First look at the Panthers’ 2024 QBs
‘No room for complacency’ as Yarnell leads young group
Pitt’s first open spring practice to the media at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex was also the first chance for anyone outside of the program to see Pat Narduzzi’s new set of quarterbacks.
Both redshirt junior quarterbacks Nate Yarnell and Christian Veilleux started multiple games last season and were the first quarterbacks to throw in their drills.
Veilleux was first to take over in relief of Phil Jurkovec last season, played in seven games with five starts, and then Yarnell took over after Veilleux was benched and started Pitt’s last two games of the season. While both players only won a single start, Veilleux threw seven touchdowns and eight interceptions with a 51.1 completion percentage, compared to Yarnell’s four touchdowns, one interception, and a 66.1 completion percentage.
That was enough for the tone to be carried over to spring practice, where Yarnell was still Pitt’s top quarterback. Veilleux appeared to be in the position of the Panthers’ second quarterback, while redshirt freshman Ty Dieffenbach, transfer redshirt freshman Eli Holstein, and true freshman Julian Dugger from Penn Hills all split reps behind them.
When Narduzzi spoke after practice, he praised Yarnell for his leadership. He recalled how he and the 6-foot-6, 215-pound righty from Austin, Texas, only needed a simple conversation during the offseason to explain he’d get the first chance to Pitt’s starting quarterback.
“I said, ‘Hey, you’re the guy going into it,’” Narduzzi said of how he told Yarnell he’d be Pitt’s top quarterback to start spring practices. “It’s going to be one day at a time. But for the last couple of years, I’ve felt this guy’s a leader. He deserves the opportunity to find where he can go from there.”
“Nate has always been a guy who’s led,” Narduzzi continued. “The guys have trusted in him. But it’ll also come with going out and doing it every day in practice. Leadership goes with making plays and being the guy. Everyone else wants to see him go out there and do it too.”
Yarnell also spoke after practice, noting that Narduzzi’s confidence “meant everything” to him, as it allowed him to just focus on football.
“It’s a different challenge, but the same mindset,” Yarnell said of knowing he’s the starter. “I’ve always had the same mindset that I wanted to play, and I wanted to win. I work hard to make sure we can get wins this year.”
Yarnell’s place as Pitt’s top quarterback to start spring camp is far from being in stone. Last year, Pitt called upon three different quarterbacks throughout the season, and Veilleux has shown that he’s ready to compete for the job over the next five months before the season begins.
“Everybody wants to compete,” Narduzzi said of Veilleux. “I think he’s been a pro about it. Things happen on game day, and you have to make plays. We had three quarterbacks with opportunities last year. Depth charts are always fluid.”
“Christian’s a good quarterback,” Yarnell said. “I love having him next to me. I can definitely learn from him. I think it’s a good relationship to allow us to compete better.”
But all the quarterbacks share one major factor: they’re learning the new Kade Bell offense.
The new Panthers offense looks to be so fastpaced and up-tempo that Narduzzi joked that he wasn’t sure if Pitt would be called for delay of game all season.
“I definitely think it’s an advantage,” Yarnell said of Bell’s up-tempo offense. “I’m going faster, and I’m able to process plays just as quickly, so it’ll make defenses easier to read.”
Yarnell also said Pitt’s quarterbacks and wide receivers spent time working together before spring camp to get up to speed in Bell’s offense and the concepts they’d need to know so they could hit the ground running in spring camp.
As for the newest members to Pitt’s quarterback room — Holstein and Dugger — the jury is still out on either of them, but Narduzzi sees them going through the right steps to begin the journey with the Panthers.
“They’ve been good,” Narduzzi said of Holstein and Dugger. “They’re paying attention and locked in. We’ll watch the tape from today. There were a lot of drills with some early balls thrown into the ground, but there’s a lot of quarterbacks throwing balls [right now.]”
But while Pitt’s newest quarterbacks develop, the whole team’s focus is still to bounce back from the Panthers’ 3-9 season — the worst record of Narduzzi’s tenure.
“It’s a different vibe from last year,” Yarnell said. “There’s no room for complacency anymore. We’re not here to be average. Last year, we obviously could’ve been better. Everyone knows that, and we’re all sick about it. But we’re all moving in the right direction now.”